Ever since the White House introduced its College Scorecard, critics have emerged from every corner (including my colleague Jeff Selingo on this blog yesterday). The Scorecard is incomplete and does not evaluate the proper measures, we are told. Selecting a university and judging quality based on five variables limits and insults what a college education is all about. The data is too general anContinue Reading »

The fourth capability of Education Sector’s new Higher Ed Data Central that we would like to highlight (see links for the first, second, and third capabilities) is the ability to combine data from different databases. For example, merging U.S. News and World Report college rankings with Department of Education IPEDS data allows us to investigate various relationships, such as the chart below shContinue Reading »

Ranking colleges on factors that matter. Washington Monthly is out with its annual college rankings again, but this time, editors include college tuition prices in the mix. University of California at San Diego comes out on top, giving students the biggest bang for their buck. (Washington Monthly)

Excitement over a snow day? No more. Some Ohio school districts will offer lessons and assiContinue Reading »

I missed giving a shout out last week to the teacher I appreciated most. So, I’ll declare this “professor” appreciation day (week?).

Phyllis Jones was a demanding Oberlin College English professor who didn’t let students slip by with mediocre work. Her policy was that papers would be marked down one grade for each day they were late. Once, when I was burdened with more Continue Reading »

One key finding from a recently released report by MDRC on NYC’s conditional cash transfer program: “Family Rewards payments helped strengthen some better-prepared high school students’ belief that they were ‘on track’ to graduation, college, and a better future which reinforced their motivation. Some highly motivated and generally proficient high school students uContinue Reading »

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.

Is the cart trying to give birth to the horse? Shouldn’t curriculum precede assessments? (Core Knowledge Blog)
How has state-to-district assistance worked since “A Nation at Risk?” (Center for American ProgresContinue Reading »

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.

They’re out again. (U.S. News & World Report) But why do the college rankings designed by U.S. News need major reworking? (Education Sector)
And what are CCAP’s thoughts on them? (Center for College AfforContinue Reading »

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading and viewing each day.

What do Amazon.com and university rankings have in common? (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Suppose that a collection of teachers got together, started a blog, and tried to grab policymakers’ attentions. What would haContinue Reading »